Bill Fulton: City makeover-in-chief

New planning director aims to speed up plan changes but leave most places alone

Bill Fulton at his Little Italy apartment building. He became San Diego's planning director July 8 and tasked with reviving the planning department that had been merged with development services.
— John Gastaldo

Bill Fulton at his Little Italy apartment building. He became San Diego's planning director July 8 and tasked with reviving the planning department that had been merged with development services.
— John Gastaldo

Q: Inevitably, some neighborhoods don't welcome change. How do you overcome that NIMBY (not in my backyard) pushback?

A: Yes, some neighborhoods will be opposed to new development that from the outside might make sense. But there are many other neighborhoods that will welcome development. One thing we've seen in San Diego is that the market has wanted to go north and a lot of the opportunity and receptive neighborhoods lie to the south. So if there's a way to get the market to be more interested in the southeast corridor, for example, that solves a lot of the problems in finding a place for a lot of that development to go -- in neighborhoods where people are more receptive.

Q: What's an example of a neighborhood that you think need particular focus?

A: High on my list is to initiate and do a (new) plan on Mission Valley. Mission Valley is a big complicated mess, but if you redeveloped the opportunity sites in Mission Valley in the right way (such as the shopping centers, Qualcomm Stadium and Riverwalk golf course), it could have a transformational effect on the entire region.

Q:So many old neighborhoods wish they had the parks, libraries and lush landscaping evident in new neighborhoods that were planned under former Mayor Pete Wilson's growth-management policies of the 1970s and '80s.

A: That is the biggest challenge facing San Diego. There really is a divide between pre-growth management and post-growth management neighborhoods. It is true that many of the old neighborhoods are park poor and (lack) many other amenities the new neighborhoods have that these old ones don't. We have to examine what are the things most important to older neighborhoods, what can truly transform them and make a huge difference in the quality of life.

Q: You said San Diego is greater than many of its residents realize?

A: This is an extraordinary city. It has a spectacular natural setting. It has a century of well-planned neighborhoods and public facilities. It has amazing open space that was developed in large part through the species (and habitat conservation) program. Its strength and breadth and depth as a city are not always truly understood by the people who live here. It's a consistently prosperous place. It is one of the world's leading innovation hubs. It is a city, amazingly enough, where even in the poorest neighborhood, you have spectacular views. San Diego has to reinvent itself for the first time to become a 21st century city, to become more urban, yes, in some parts of town, but in a way that really shows how resilient and flexible and sustainable we can be -- and that's something we've never had to be before. That's the most exciting thing about being here now and I think this city is as well positioned to face that challenge as any city in the country.